Distributed blade server system, management server and switching method

ABSTRACT

A distributed blade server system, a management server and a switching method are provided. The method includes: determining a standby blade of a first blade when it is determined that the first blade is in abnormal operation; delivering, based on an access relationship between a startup card of the first blade and a first storage partition, a first configuration command to a storage system, the first configuration command including information of an access relationship between a startup card of the standby blade and the first storage partition, so that the storage system configures the access relationship between the startup card of the standby blade and the first storage partition; and delivering a startup command to the standby blade.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation of a U.S. patent application Ser. No.13/340,055, filed on Dec. 29, 2011, which is a continuation of anInternational Patent Application No. PCT/CN2011/075368, filed on Jun. 7,2011, which claims priority to Chinese Patent Application No.201010565746.9, filed on Nov. 30, 2010, both of which are herebyincorporated by reference in their entireties.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to the field of communicationstechnologies, and in particular, to a distributed blade server system, amanagement server and a switching method.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

A blade server subsystem is characterized by high computing capability,space saving, centralized management and being easy to extend. Comparedwith a conventional rack system and a tower server system, the bladeserver subsystem may help enterprises to reduce the costs of powersupply, heat dissipation and storage space, and as a result, a bladeserver has been used due to advantages with respect to cost efficiency.

The blade server subsystem includes a large number of hot-swappabledevices, referred to as blades, accommodated in a chassis. The bladementioned here is an independent server, and the blade includes one ormore processors and related memories, storage disks and networkcontrollers, and runs its own operating system (OS) and applicationprogram. The blade server subsystem shares common infrastructurecomponents, such as power sources, fans, Compact Disk Read-Only Memories(CD-ROMs) and floppy disk drives, Ethernet and Fibre Channel (FC)switches and system ports, and thereby the complexity of many racksystems is avoided. The most significant difference lies in that theblade server subsystem is installed on a horizontal bottom plate in aperpendicular manner, while a typical rack system is formed byhorizontal arrangement of vertically stacked servers.

In the implementation of the present invention, the inventor finds thatthough the blade server subsystem requires low power consumption, thedensity of blades is high, and in a high-density deployment environment,the reliability of blades is lower than that of tower and rack servers,and spare blades may not be replaced quickly; and in a distributedsystem, the reliability of nodes deployed on the blade server is lowerthan that of nodes deployed on a minicomputer, as a result, a systemreliability is low.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Embodiments of the present invention provide a distributed blade serversystem, a management server and a switching method, so as to improve thesystem reliability.

In one aspect, an embodiment of the present invention provides adistributed blade server system, which includes a management server, astorage system, and a blade server subsystem including multiple blades,the management server being in communication connection with the bladeserver subsystem and the storage system through a network, where

the management server is configured to determine a standby blade of afirst blade when it is determined that the first blade is in abnormaloperation; deliver, based on an access relationship between a startupcard of the first blade and a first storage partition, a firstconfiguration command to the storage system, the first configurationcommand including information of an access relationship between astartup card of the determined standby blade and the first storagepartition; and deliver a startup command to the determined standbyblade;

the storage system includes multiple storage partitions, and saves anOS, an application program and configuration data that are required bythe multiple blades; and is configured to respond to the firstconfiguration command to configure the access relationship between thestartup card of the standby blade and the first storage partition, so asto enable the standby blade to access the first storage partition; and

the standby blade is configured to respond to the startup command, andafter the startup card of the standby blade is started, load, from theaccessible first storage partition in the storage system, the OS, theapplication program and the configuration data.

In another aspect, an embodiment of the present invention provides amanagement server, which includes:

a data storage module, configured to save system configuration data,where the system configuration data includes one or more parameters in amapping relationship between a blade startup card identification, astorage system partition identification, and a blade state; and

a device management module, configured to determine a standby blade of afirst blade when it is determined that the first blade is in abnormaloperation; deliver, based on an access relationship between a startupcard of the first blade and a first storage partition, a firstconfiguration command to a storage system, the first configurationcommand including information of an access relationship between astartup card of the determined standby blade and the first storagepartition; and deliver a startup command to the determined standbyblade.

In another aspect, an embodiment of the present invention provides aswitching method, which is applicable to a management server, andincludes:

determining a standby blade of a first blade when it is determined thatthe first blade is in abnormal operation;

delivering, based on an access relationship between a startup card ofthe first blade and a first storage partition, a first configurationcommand to a storage system, the first configuration command includinginformation of an access relationship between a startup card of thestandby blade and the first storage partition, so that the storagesystem configures the access relationship between the startup card ofthe standby blade and the first storage partition; and

delivering a startup command to the standby blade, so that the standbyblade responds to the startup command, and after the startup card of thestandby blade is started, loads, from the accessible first storagepartition in the storage system, an OS, an application program andconfiguration data.

In another aspect, an embodiment of the present invention provides adistributed blade server system, which includes a management server, astorage system, and a blade server subsystem including multiple blades,the management server being in communication connection with the bladeserver subsystem and the storage system through a network, where

the management server is configured to determine a standby blade of afirst blade when it is determined that the first blade is in abnormaloperation, deliver a first configuration command to the storage system,the first configuration command being used for indicating that thedetermined standby blade is capable of accessing a first storagepartition where original loaded content of the first blade is located,and deliver a startup command to the determined standby blade;

the storage system includes multiple storage partitions, and saves anOS, an application program and configuration data that are required bythe multiple blades; and is configured to respond to the firstconfiguration command to configure an access relationship between thestandby blade and the first storage partition where the original loadedcontent of the first blade is located, so as to enable the standby bladeto access the first storage partition; and

the standby blade is configured to start in response to the startupcommand, and load, from the accessible first storage partition in thestorage system, the OS, the application program and the configurationdata.

It may be seen that, in the embodiments of the present invention, amanagement server is deployed in a distributed blade server system withblades that do not have a local disk, and the management serverdetermines a standby blade of a first blade when finding that the firstblade is in abnormal operation; delivers, based on an accessrelationship between a startup card of the first blade and a firststorage partition, a first configuration command to the storage system,so that the storage system responds to the first configuration commandto configure an access relationship between a startup card of thestandby blade and the first storage partition, so as to enable thestandby blade to access the first storage partition, thereby configuringan access relationship between the blades and the storage partitions inthe storage system through the management server; and delivers a startupcommand to the determined standby blade, so that the standby bladeresponds to the startup command, and after the startup card of thestandby blade is started, loads, from the accessible first storagepartition in the storage system, the OS, the application program and theconfiguration data, so that blade switching is controlled through themanagement server. In this way, when a fault occurs in a blade, astandby blade may be quickly used for providing a service, so as toreduce the service interruption time, and thereby the system reliabilityis improved.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

To make the technical solutions of the present invention or the priorart more comprehensible, the accompanying drawings required to be usedin the description of the embodiments or the prior art are simplydescribed below. Apparently, the accompanying drawings described belowdemonstrate some of the embodiments of the present invention. Based onthe accompanying drawings, persons skilled in the art may obtain otheraccompanying drawings without creative efforts.

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of a logical structure of a distributedblade server system according to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 1 a is a schematic structural diagram of a blade server subsystem20 in FIG. 1;

FIG. 1 b is a schematic structural diagram of a storage system 30 inFIG. 1;

FIG. 1 c is a schematic diagram of physical deployment of a distributedblade server system according to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 1 d is a schematic diagram of actual networking of a distributedblade server system according to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a schematic flow chart of a switching method according to anembodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram of interaction of a management serverparticipating in a blade startup process according to an embodiment ofthe present invention;

FIG. 4 a is a schematic diagram of interaction of a management serverparticipating in a blade switching process according to an embodiment ofthe present invention;

FIG. 4 b is a schematic architectural diagram of an applicationnetworking environment of the management server participating in theblade switching process according to the embodiment of the presentinvention shown in FIG. 4 a;

FIG. 5 a is a schematic diagram of interaction of a management serverparticipating in a disk array switching process according to anembodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 5 b is a schematic architectural diagram of an applicationnetworking environment of the management server participating in thedisk array switching process according to the embodiment of the presentinvention shown in FIG. 5 a;

FIG. 6 is a schematic structural diagram of a management serveraccording to an embodiment of the present invention; and

FIG. 7 is a schematic structural diagram of another management serveraccording to an embodiment of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENTS

In order to make the objectives, technical solutions, and advantages ofthe present invention clearer, the technical solutions of the presentinvention are clearly described below through specific embodiments withthe accompanying drawings. It is obvious that the embodiments to bedescribed are a part rather than all of the embodiments of the presentinvention. All other embodiments obtained by persons skilled in the artbased on the embodiments of the present invention without creativeeffects shall fall within the protection scope of the present invention.

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of a logical structure of a distributedblade server system according to an embodiment of the present invention.As shown in FIG. 1, the distributed blade server system according to theembodiment of the present invention includes: a management server 10, astorage system 30, and a blade server subsystem 20 (as shown in FIG. 1a) including multiple blades 21, 22, . . . , and 2N, and the managementserver 10 is in communication connection with the blade server subsystem20 and the storage system 30 through a network.

The management server 10 is configured to determine a standby blade of afirst blade when it is determined/found that the first blade is inabnormal operation; deliver, based on an access relationship between astartup card of the first blade and a first storage partition, a firstconfiguration command to the storage system 30, the first configurationcommand including information of an access relationship between astartup card of the determined standby blade and the first storagepartition; and deliver a startup command to the determined standbyblade.

The storage system 30 includes multiple storage partitions, and isadapted to save an OS, an application program and configuration datathat are required by the blades 21, 22, . . . , and 2N; and is adaptedto respond to the first configuration command to configure the accessrelationship between the startup card of the standby blade and the firststorage partition, so as to enable the standby blade to access the firststorage partition.

The standby blade is configured to respond to the startup command, andafter the startup card of the standby blade is started, load, from theaccessible first storage partition in the storage system, the OS, theapplication program and the configuration data.

In one implementation scheme, the management server 10 is specificallyconfigured to save system configuration data, the system configurationdata including a blade startup card identification, a storage partitionidentification, and a blade state (including an active state, a standbystate, and a faulty state) that have a mapping relationship, andoptionally further including a blade type; and configured to monitor anoperating state of a blade, where the operating state includes one ormore combinations of a state of a network card of the blade, a heartbeatof the blade, and a state of an application program on the blade, anddetermine a standby blade of a first blade when detecting that the firstblade is in abnormal operation; deliver a first configuration command tothe storage system 30 based on a mapping relationship between a startupcard identification of the first blade and a first storage partitionidentification, the first configuration command including information ofa mapping relationship between a startup card identification of thedetermined standby blade and the first storage partition identification;and deliver a startup command to the determined standby blade.

Correspondingly, the storage system 30 is specifically adapted torespond to the first configuration command to configure the mappingrelationship between the startup card identification of the standbyblade and the first storage partition identification.

Correspondingly, the standby blade is specifically configured to respondto the startup command, and after the startup card of the standby bladeis started, load the OS, the application program and the configurationdata from a first storage partition identified by the first storagepartition identification associated with the startup card identificationof the standby blade.

In another implementation scheme, the management server 10 isspecifically configured to save system configuration data, the systemconfiguration data including a blade startup card identification, astorage partition identification, and a blade state (including an activestate, a standby state, and a faulty state) that have a mappingrelationship, and optionally further including a blade type; andconfigured to monitor a fault alarm reported from a blade, and determinea standby blade of a first blade when receiving a fault alarm reportedfrom the first blade; deliver a first configuration command to thestorage system 30 based on a mapping relationship between a startup cardidentification of the first blade and a first storage partitionidentification, the first configuration command including information ofa mapping relationship between a startup card identification of thedetermined standby blade and the first storage partition identification;and deliver a startup command to the determined standby blade.

Correspondingly, the storage system 30 is specifically adapted torespond to the first configuration command to configure the mappingrelationship between the startup card identification of the standbyblade and the first storage partition identification.

Correspondingly, the standby blade is specifically configured to respondto the startup command, and after the startup card of the standby bladeis started, load the OS, the application program and the configurationdata from a first storage partition identified by the first storagepartition identification associated with the startup card identificationof the standby blade.

It should be noted that, the standby blade of the first blade isidentified by any one of the following: a blade startup cardidentification with a blade state being a standby state, or a bladestartup card identification that matches a blade type of the startupcard identification of the first blade and that is with a blade statebeing a standby state, or a standby blade startup card identificationobtained through a man-machine interface.

If the system configuration data further includes the blade type, thestartup card identification of the determined standby blade may be: ablade startup card identification that matches a blade type of thestartup card identification of the first blade and that is with a bladestate being a standby state.

If it does not need to distinguish the blade type of the multiple blades21, 22, . . . , and 2N in the distributed blade server system accordingto the embodiment of the present invention, the startup cardidentification of the determined standby blade may be: a blade startupcard identification with a blade state being a standby state.

Preferably, as shown in FIG. 1 b, in the distributed blade server systemaccording to the embodiment of the present invention, the storage system30 includes an active storage system 31 and a standby storage system 32,and each storage system includes multiple storage partitions 1, 2, . . ., and N.

Correspondingly, the management server 10 is further configured toremove an access relationship between the blade 21, 22, . . . , and 2Nand a corresponding storage partition in the active storage system 31when it is found that the active storage system 31 is in abnormaloperation, deliver a second configuration command to the standby storagesystem 32 based on an access relationship between a startup card of theblade 21, 22, . . . , and 2N and the corresponding storage partition inthe active storage system, the second configuration command includinginformation of an access relationship between the startup card of theblade 21, 22, . . . , and 2N and a corresponding storage partition inthe standby storage system, and is configured to deliver a restartcommand to the blade 21, 22, . . . , and 2N.

Correspondingly, the standby storage system 32 is further configured torespond to the second configuration command to configure the accessrelationship between the startup card of the blade 21, 22, . . . , and2N and the corresponding storage partition in the standby storagesystem.

Correspondingly, the blade 21, 22, . . . , and 2N is further configuredto respond to the restart command, and after the startup card of theblade 21, 22, . . . , and 2N is started, load the OS, the applicationprogram and the configuration data from the accessible storage partitionin the standby storage system 32.

In one implementation scheme, the management server 10 is furtherconfigured to monitor a state of the storage system, where the stateincludes one or more combinations of a heartbeat of the storage systemand a state of the storage system, remove a mapping relationship betweena blade 21, 22, . . . , and 2N and the active storage system whendetecting that the active storage system is in abnormal operation,deliver a second configuration command to the standby storage systembased on a mapping relationship between a startup card identification ofthe blade and a corresponding storage partition identification in theactive storage system, the second configuration command includinginformation of a mapping relationship between the startup cardidentification of the blade and a corresponding storage partitionidentification in the standby storage system, and is configured todeliver a restart command to the blade 21, 22, . . . , and 2N.

Correspondingly, the standby storage system is further configured torespond to the second configuration command to configure the mappingrelationship between the startup card identification of the blade 21,22, . . . , and 2N and the corresponding storage partitionidentification in the standby storage system.

Correspondingly, the blade 21, 22, . . . , and 2N is further configuredto respond to the restart command, and after the startup card of theblade 21, 22, . . . , and 2N is started, load the OS, the applicationprogram and the configuration data from a storage partition in thestandby storage system identified by the storage partitionidentification associated with the startup card identification of theblade.

In another implementation scheme, the management server 10 is furtherconfigured to monitor a fault alarm reported from the storage system,remove a mapping relationship between a blade 21, 22, . . . , and 2N andthe active storage system when receiving a fault alarm reported from theactive storage system, deliver a second configuration command to thestandby storage system based on a mapping relationship between a startupcard identification of the blade and a corresponding storage partitionidentification in the active storage system, the second configurationcommand including information of a mapping relationship between thestartup card identification of the blade and a corresponding storagepartition identification in the standby storage system, and deliver arestart command to the blade 21, 22, . . . , and 2N.

Correspondingly, the standby storage system is further configured torespond to the second configuration command to configure the mappingrelationship between the startup card identification of the blade 21,22, . . . , and 2N and the corresponding storage partitionidentification in the standby storage system.

Correspondingly, the blade 21, 22, . . . , and 2N is further configuredto respond to the restart command, and after the startup card of theblade 21, 22, . . . , and 2N is started, load the OS, the applicationprogram and the configuration data from a storage partition in thestandby storage system identified by the storage partitionidentification associated with the startup card identification of theblade.

It should be noted that, the restart command may be delivered to allblades, or blades in an active state.

In the distributed blade server system according to the embodiment ofthe present invention, the management server 10 may be deployed indifferent manners, for example, the management server 10 is deployed onan independent server, or, as shown in FIG. 1 c, deployed on a blade inthe blade server subsystem.

It should be noted that, the startup card of the blade involved in theembodiment of the present invention is a Host Bus Adaptor (HBA), and theHBA includes, but is not limited to, a Fibre Channel HBA (FC-HBA), anInternet Small Computer Systems Interface HBA (iSCSI-HBA), and anEthernet HBA. Each blade has an HBA or is deployed with an HBA.

Correspondingly, the blade startup card identification actually refersto an identification, World Wide Name (WWN), of a port of the HBA on theblade, in which the WWN is a unique name in the world and is generally aunique 48 or 64 bit number assigned by a recognized naming authority(often via block assignment to a manufacturer). It should be understoodthat, one blade generally has two or more ports, and the WWN isclassified into two types, namely, node WWN (WWNN) and port WWN (WWPN),in which all ports on the same HBA share one WWNN, and each port on theHBA has a unique WWPN.

The storage partition identification in the embodiment of the presentinvention refers to information that can be used for uniquelyidentifying or distinguishing different storage partitions in thestorage system.

Based on the above, in the embodiment of the present invention, amanagement server is deployed in a distributed blade server system withblades that do not have a local disk, and the management serverdetermines a standby blade of a first blade when finding that the firstblade is in abnormal operation; delivers, based on an accessrelationship between a startup card of the first blade and a firststorage partition, a first configuration command to the storage system,so that the storage system responds to the first configuration commandto configure an access relationship between a startup card of thestandby blade and the first storage partition, so as to enable thestandby blade to access the first storage partition, thereby configuringan access relationship between the blades and the storage partitions inthe storage system through the management server; and delivers a startupcommand to the determined standby blade, so that the standby bladeresponds to the startup command, and after the startup card of thestandby blade is started, loads, from the accessible first storagepartition in the storage system, the OS, the application program and theconfiguration data, so that blade switching is controlled through themanagement server. In this way, when a fault occurs in a blade, astandby blade may be quickly used for providing a service, so as toreduce the service interruption time, and thereby the system reliabilityis improved.

Further, when finding that the active storage system is in abnormaloperation, the management server delivers a second configuration commandto the standby storage system based on an access relationship between astartup card of the blade and the corresponding storage partition in theactive storage system, so that the standby storage system responds tothe second configuration command to configure an access relationshipbetween the startup card of the blade and a corresponding storagepartition in the standby storage system, so as to enable the blade toaccess the corresponding storage partition, thereby configuring anaccess relationship between the blades and the storage partitions in thestandby storage system through the management server; and delivers arestart command to the blade, so that the blade responds to the restartcommand, and after the startup card of the standby blade is started,loads the OS, the application program and the configuration data fromthe accessible storage partition in the standby storage system, therebystorage system switching is controlled through the management server. Inthis way, when a fault occurs in a storage system, a standby storagesystem may be quickly used for providing a service, so as to reduce theservice interruption time, and thereby the system reliability is furtherimproved.

FIG. 1 d is a schematic diagram of actual networking of a distributedblade server system according to an embodiment of the present invention.As shown in FIG. 1 d, the blade server subsystem includes a set ofAdvanced Telecom Computing Architecture (ATCA) frames. Each ATCA frameincludes 12 blades, that is, Blade 1-12. The storage system includes anactive disk array and a standby disk array, and a high-speed opticalfiber connection is adopted between a blade and a disk array. It shouldbe noted that, the blade in each ATCA frame has an FC-HBA, and theFC-HBA has multiple FC ports, which may be understood as that each bladehas an FC port and an eth port (the number of ports is not limited toone, but may be multiple), and an FC is provided between the FC port onthe blade and the FC port on the disk array. To improve the reliabilityof networking, the channel (FC network) between the ATCA frame and thedisk array adopts dual planes. The management channel (eth network)between the management server OSMU and the ATCA frame and the disk arrayalso adopts dual planes (not shown in FIG. 1 d).

The ATCA blade does not include a local storage disk, and the OS, theapplication program and the configuration data that are required duringoperation of the service system are stored in the disk array.

The management server OSS-Self Maintenance Unit (OSMU) provides systemreliability guarantees that include quick service recovery and quickreplacement in case of damaged blades, and active-standby disk arrayswitching.

FIG. 2 is a schematic flow chart of a switching method according to anembodiment of the present invention. The method may be applied to themanagement server in the distributed blade server system shown inFIG. 1. As shown in FIG. 2, the method may include the following steps:

S201: Determine a standby blade of a first blade when it is determinedthat the first blade is in abnormal operation.

In one implementation scheme, an operating state of a blade ismonitored, where the operating state includes one or more combinationsof a state of a network card of the blade, a heartbeat of the blade, andan operating state of an application program on the blade; and it isdetermined that a first blade is in abnormal operation when it isdetected any one of the foregoing combinations of the first blade isabnormal.

In another implementation scheme, a fault alarm reported from a blade ismonitored, and it is determined that a first blade is in abnormaloperation when a fault alarm reported from the first blade is received.

Specifically, the management server saves system configuration data, thesystem configuration data including a blade startup card identification,a storage partition identification, and a blade state (including anactive state, a standby state, and a faulty state) having a mappingrelationship, and optionally further including a blade type.

Correspondingly, in one implementation scheme, the determining thestandby blade of the first blade in step S201 specifically includes:determining a standby blade startup card identification of the firstblade according to the system configuration data, the standby bladestartup card identification being a blade startup card identificationwith a blade state being a standby state, or a blade startup cardidentification that matches a blade type of the startup cardidentification of the first blade and that is with a blade state being astandby state.

Alternatively, in another implementation scheme, the determining thestandby blade of the first blade in step S201 specifically includes:obtaining a standby blade startup card identification of the first bladethrough a man-machine interface; and specifically, as shown in FIG. 1 b,a standby blade startup card identification input by system maintenancepersonnel is received through a Web Graphical User Interface (GUI).

S202: Deliver, based on an access relationship between a startup card ofthe first blade and a first storage partition, a first configurationcommand to a storage system, the first configuration command includinginformation of an access relationship between a startup card of thestandby blade and the first storage partition, so that the storagesystem configures the access relationship between the startup card ofthe standby blade and the first storage partition.

In one implementation scheme, S202 specifically includes: delivering afirst configuration command to the storage system based on a mappingrelationship between a startup card identification of the first bladeand a first storage partition identification, the first configurationcommand including information of a mapping relationship between astartup card identification of the standby blade and the first storagepartition identification.

S204: Deliver a startup command to the standby blade, so that thestandby blade responds to the startup command, and after the startupcard of the standby blade is started, loads, from the accessible firststorage partition in the storage system, an OS, an application programand configuration data.

Optionally, before step S204, the method further includes step S203.

S203: Disable a faulty first blade, and remove an access relationshipbetween the first blade and the first storage partition.

Here, the disabling the faulty first blade refers to stopping theservice of the first blade, and delivering a power-down instruction tothe first blade, so as to power down the first blade.

Here, a specific implementation of removing the access relationshipbetween the first blade and the first storage partition may be updatingor deleting the mapping relationship between the startup cardidentification of the first blade and the first storage partitionidentification in a corresponding data model record; or delivering aconfiguration command to the storage system, so that the storage systemconfigures the access relationship between the startup card of the firstblade and the first storage partition to be invalid.

Preferably, in the distributed blade server system according to theembodiment of the present invention, the storage system 30 includes anactive storage system 31 and a standby storage system 32.

Correspondingly, the method according to the embodiment of the presentinvention further includes step S205.

S205: Remove an access relationship between the blade 21, 22, . . . ,and 2N and a corresponding storage partition in the active storagesystem when it is found that the active storage system is in abnormaloperation, deliver a second configuration command to the standby storagesystem based on an access relationship between a startup card of theblade 21, 22, . . . , and 2N and the corresponding storage partition inthe active storage system, the second configuration command includinginformation of an access relationship between the startup card of theblade 21, 22, . . . , and 2N and a corresponding storage partition inthe standby storage system, and deliver a restart command to the blade21, 22, . . . , and 2N.

In one implementation scheme, step S205 specifically includes:monitoring a state of the storage system, where the state includes oneor more combinations of a heartbeat of the storage system and a state ofthe storage system, removing an access relationship between a blade 21,22, . . . , and 2N and the active storage system when it is detectedthat any one of the combinations is abnormal, delivering a secondconfiguration command to the standby storage system based on a mappingrelationship between a startup card identification of the blade 21, 22,. . . , and 2N and a corresponding storage partition identification inthe active storage system, the second configuration command includinginformation of a mapping relationship between the startup cardidentification of the blade 21, 22, . . . , and 2N and a correspondingstorage partition identification in the standby storage system, anddelivering a restart command to the blade 21, 22, . . . , and 2N.

In another implementation scheme, step S205 specifically includes:monitoring a fault alarm reported from the storage system, removing amapping relationship between a blade 21, 22, . . . , and 2N and theactive storage system when a fault alarm reported from the activestorage system is received, delivering a second configuration command tothe standby storage system based on a mapping relationship between astartup card identification of the blade 21, 22, . . . , and 2N and acorresponding storage partition identification in the active storagesystem, the second configuration command including information of amapping relationship between the startup card identification of theblade 21, 22, . . . , and 2N and a corresponding storage partitionidentification in the standby storage system, and delivering a restartcommand to the blade 21, 22, . . . , and 2N.

Based on the above, in the switching method according to the embodimentof the present invention, a management server is disposed in adistributed blade server system with blades that do not have a localdisk, and a mapping relationship between the blades and the storagepartitions in the storage system is configured through the managementserver, so that the management server, when finding that a blade and/ora storage system is in abnormal operation, controls switching of theblade and/or the storage system. In this way, when a fault occurs in ablade and/or a storage system, a standby blade and/or a standby storagesystem may be quickly used for providing a service, so as to reduce theservice interruption time, and thereby the system reliability isimproved.

The method according to the embodiment of the present invention isintroduced in detail below with reference to actual applications.

FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram of interaction of a management server OSMUparticipating in a blade startup process according to an embodiment ofthe present invention, which involves a blade configuration process anda storage system configuration process. The method is applied to anetworking environment shown in FIG. 1, and as shown in FIG. 3, thespecific message interaction may include the following steps:

S301: The blade server subsystem completes blade installation, and is ina standby state.

S302 a-302 b: The management server OSMU completes partitionconfiguration of the storage system, that is, configures, by deliveringa configuration command to the storage system, a blade of the bladeserver subsystem so that the blade of the blade server subsystem iscapable of accessing a partition.

S303 a-303 b: The management server OSMU starts to monitor the storagesystem.

S304 a-304 b: The management server OSMU configures blade startupparameters that include a partition from which an OS is loaded, apartition of service software, and a partition of data.

S305: The management server OSMU controls a blade to power up.

S306 a-306 c: The blade loads the OS, starts the service software andloads the data from a pre-configured partition of the storage system.

S307: The management server OSMU completes an update of an operatingstate of the blade, and establishes a mapping relationship between theblade and the storage partitions.

S308 a-308 b: The management server OSMU starts blade state monitoring.

FIG. 4 a is a schematic diagram of interaction of a management serverOSMU participating in a blade switching process according to anembodiment of the present invention. The method is applied to anetworking environment shown in FIG. 4 b. The management server OSMUmonitors the operating states of all blades in real time, and afterautomatically recognizing that a fault occurs in a blade 3 (Blade3),starts a blade switching procedure to automatically switch a service onthe blade 3 to a standby blade 12. As shown in FIG. 4 a, the specificmessage interaction may include the following steps:

S401 a-402 b: The management server OSMU monitors, in real time, theoperating states of all blades in the blade server subsystem, andrecognizes that a fault occurs in a blade Blade3 of Slot3, as shown inFIG. 4 b.

It should be understood that, monitoring of the state of the blade 3 bythe management server OSMU is taken as an example here, which is a loopprocess.

Monitoring of the state of the blade 12 (the blade 12 is in a standbystate) by the management server OSMU is taken as an example here, whichis a loop process.

S403: The management server OSMU determines a standby blade forswitching, that is, selects a standby blade 12 from the standby bladesfor switching, and starts an operation of switching the blade 3 to thestandby blade 12.

Specifically, the management server OSMU knows that Blade 12 is in astandby state by retrieving a data model record.

In one implementation scheme, the data model record saves a bladeservice type, a disk array partition type, a blade startup cardidentification, a disk array partition identification and a blade state(including an active state, a standby state, and a faulty state) thathave a mapping relationship; and parameter configuration required forblade management and disk array management. For example, a type of diskarray partition includes as shown in FIG. 4 b, disk array partitions ofan OS type, disk array partitions of a DB type, and disk arraypartitions of a DATA type.

S404 a-404 b: The management server OSMU stops the service of the blade3, and delivers a power-down instruction to the blade 3, that is,Blade3, so as to power down the blade 3.

It should be noted that, step S403 and step S404 a-404 b are not limitedto a particular order.

S405 a-405 b: The management server OSMU configures the blade 12 to becapable of accessing a partition on the active disk array where originalloaded content of the blade 3 is located, for example, an OS3 partition.

That is, the management server OSMU delivers a configuration command tothe active disk array, the configuration command including informationof a mapping relationship between a startup card identification of theblade 12 and an OS3 partition identification.

S406 a-406 b: The management server OSMU configures the blade 12 tostart from an HBA.

That is, the management server OSMU delivers a configuration command tothe blade 12, the configuration command including information forindicating that a startup mode is startup from an HBA.

It should be understood that, in different application scenarios, thestartup mode includes, but is not limited to, local disk startup,startup from an HBA, and startup from a Universal Serial Bus (USB), andis local disk startup by default. In the embodiment of the presentinvention, the startup mode of the standby blade is configured to bestartup from an HBA.

S407: The management server OSMU performs a power-up operation onSlot12, so as to control the standby blade 12 to power up.

That is, a startup command is delivered to the standby blade 12.

S408 a-408 c: The standby blade 12 responds to the startup command, andafter the HBA is started, loads an OS, service software and data fromthe accessible OS3 partition of the active disk array.

After system recovery, a service on the blade 12 is started.

S409: The management server OSMU updates system configuration data,which includes: updating, in the data model record, the blade 3 to be ina faulty state, the blade 12 to be in an active state, and the diskarray partition accessed by the blade 12.

S410 a-410 b: The management server OSMU continues monitoring the stateof the blade 12, which is a loop process.

S411 a-411 c: The management server OSMU continues monitoring the stateof the blade 3, and detects that the fault of the blade 3 is repaired,which is a loop process.

S412: Update configuration data, which includes: updating the state ofthe blade 3 in the data model record to be in a standby state.

It should be understood that, the management server OSMU may display thestate of each board on a device panel figure in real time, and a usermay know by monitoring that a fault occurs in Blade3 (an alarm prompt isprovided), and that Blade12 is in an active state.

The user repairs or replaces Blade3 according to the alarm prompt of themanagement server OSMU. After repair or replacement is completed, themanagement server OSMU updates the data model record, which includesconfiguring Blade3 to be in a standby state for use by subsequent bladeservice switching and recovery.

Based on the above, the embodiment of the present invention provides aswitching method, in which a management server is disposed in adistributed blade server system with blades that do not have a localdisk, and a mapping relationship between the blades and the storagepartitions in the storage system is configured through the managementserver, so that the management server, when finding that a blade is inabnormal operation, controls switching of the blade. In this way, when afault occurs in a blade, a standby blade may be quickly used forproviding a service, so as to reduce the service interruption time, andthereby the system reliability is improved.

FIG. 5 a is a schematic diagram of interaction of a management serverOSMU participating in a disk array switching process according to anembodiment of the present invention. The method is applied to anetworking environment shown in FIG. 5 b. The management server OSMUmonitors the operating states of the disk arrays in real time, and afterautomatically recognizing that a fault occurs in the active disk array,that is, a fault occurs in a disk array A, starts a disk array switchingprocedure. As shown in FIG. 5 a, specific message interaction mayinclude the following steps:

S501: The OSMU configures a disk array B to synchronously replicate datafrom a disk array A (that is, a current active disk array).

S502: Start data synchronization between the disk array A and the diskarray B.

S503 a-503 b: The OSMU detects that a fault occurs in the disk array A.

S504: The OSMU determines that the disk array B is available, and startsan operation of switching the disk array A to the disk array B.

S505: Stop the disk array B from replicating data from the disk array A.

That is, the OSMU cuts off timed snapshot, and copy and backup mechanismbetween the active disk arrays and standby disk arrays.

S506 a-506 b: Configure an access relationship between each of multipleblades in the blade server subsystem and a corresponding partition ofthe disk array B. Here, the multiple blades may be blades in an activestate, or all blades in the blade server subsystem.

That is, the management server OSMU delivers a configuration command tothe disk array B, the configuration command including information of amapping relationship between a startup card identification of each ofmultiple blades and a corresponding partition identification of the diskarray B. In one implementation scheme, the configuration commandincludes two range intervals, in which one range interval representsstartup card identifications of multiple blades in the blade serversubsystem, and the other range interval represents multiple partitionidentifications in the disk array B corresponding to the startup cardidentifications of the multiple blades.

It should be noted that, the OSMU configures an access relationshipbetween each blade and a corresponding partition of the disk array Bbased on an access relationship between each blade and a correspondingpartition of the disk array A in the data model record; and configuresthe disk array B to be in an active state and the disk array A to be ina faulty state, and updates the configuration into the data model recordof the OSMU.

S507: Restart the multiple blades in the blade server subsystem.

That is, a restart command is delivered to the blades.

S508 a-508 c: The blade loads an OS from a corresponding partition ofthe disk array B.

That is, the blade responds to the restart command, and after the HBA isstarted, loads an OS from a storage partition in the disk array Bidentified by a storage partition identification associated with anidentification WWN of a port of the HBA.

S509: Start a service on the blade.

S510 a-510 c: The blade loads service data from a correspondingpartition of the disk array B.

S511 a-511 b: The OSMU monitors the state of the disk array B.

S512 a-512 c: The OSMU monitors the state of the disk array A, anddetects that the fault of the disk array A is repaired.

S513: The OSMU configures the disk array A for new standby storage, andconfigures the disk array A to synchronously replicate data from thedisk array B.

S514: Start data synchronization between the disk array B and the diskarray A.

It should be noted that, step S511 and step S512 are not limited to aparticular order.

The OSMU displays the state of each disk array on a device panel figurein real time, a user may know by monitoring that a fault occurs in anoriginal active disk array (the disk array A), and an original standbydisk array (the disk array B) is in an active state. The user repairs orreplaces the disk array A according to an alarm prompt of the OSMU.After repair or replacement is completed, the OSMU updates the datamodel record, and configures the disk array A to be in a standby state.The OSMU automatically recovers snapshot copy mechanism (that is, copyfrom the disk array B to the disk array A) between the active diskarrays and standby disk arrays for use by subsequent disk arrayswitching and recovery.

Based on the above, the embodiment of the present invention provides aswitching method, in which a management server is disposed in adistributed blade server system with blades that do not have a localdisk, and a mapping relationship between the blades and the storagepartitions in the storage system is configured through the managementserver, so that the management server, when finding that a storagesystem is in abnormal operation, controls switching of the storagesystem. In this way, when a fault occurs in a storage system, a standbystorage system may be quickly used for providing a service, so as toreduce the service interruption time, and thereby the system reliabilityis improved.

FIG. 6 is a schematic structural diagram of a management serveraccording to an embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 6,the management server includes a data storage module 11 and a devicemanagement module 12.

The data storage module 11 is configured to save system configurationdata, where the system configuration data includes one or moreparameters in a mapping relationship between a blade startup cardidentification, a storage system partition identification, and a bladestate.

Here, the blade state includes an active state, a standby state, and afaulty state.

The device management module 12 is configured to determine a standbyblade of a first blade when it is determined/found that the first bladeis in abnormal operation; deliver, based on an access relationshipbetween a startup card of the first blade and a first storage partition,a first configuration command to a storage system, the firstconfiguration command including information of an access relationshipbetween a startup card of the determined standby blade and the firststorage partition; and deliver a startup command to the determinedstandby blade.

In one implementation scheme, the data storage module 11 is specificallyconfigured to store a data model record, where the data model recordincludes: a blade service type, a disk array partition type, a bladestartup card identification, a disk array partition identification and ablade state (including an active state, a standby state, and a faultystate) that have a mapping relationship; and configured to saveparameter configuration required for blade, a Shelf Management Module(SMM) and storage system management.

It should be noted that, the startup card of the determined standbyblade is identified by any one of the following: a blade startup cardidentification with a blade state being a standby state, or a bladestartup card identification that matches a blade type of the startupcard identification of the first blade and that is with a blade statebeing a standby state, or a standby blade startup card identificationobtained through a man-machine interface.

Specifically, if the system configuration data further includes a bladetype, the startup card identification of the determined standby blade inthe device management module 12 may be: a blade startup cardidentification that matches a blade type of the startup cardidentification of the first blade and that is with a blade state being astandby state.

If it does not need to distinguish the blade type of the multiple blades21, 22, . . . , and 2N in the distributed blade server system accordingto the embodiment of the present invention, the startup cardidentification of the determined standby blade may be: a blade startupcard identification with a blade state being a standby state.

Preferably, as shown in FIG. 1 b, in the distributed blade server systemaccording to the embodiment of the present invention, the managementserver according to the embodiment of the present invention is incommunication connection with the blade server subsystem and the storagesystem through a network, the storage system 30 includes an activestorage system 31 and a standby storage system 32, and each storagesystem includes multiple storage partitions 1, 2, . . . , and N.

Correspondingly, the device management module 12 is further configuredto remove an access relationship between a startup card of the blade 21,22, . . . , and 2N and a corresponding storage partition in the activestorage system 31 when it is found/determined that the active storagesystem is in abnormal operation, deliver a second configuration commandto the standby storage system 32 based on an access relationship betweenthe blade 21, 22, . . . , and 2N and the corresponding storage partitionin the active storage system 31, the second configuration commandincluding information of an access relationship between the startup cardof the blade 21, 22, . . . , and 2N and a corresponding storagepartition in the standby storage system 32, and deliver a restartcommand to the blade 21, 22, . . . , and 2N.

It should be noted that, the restart command may be delivered to allblades in the blade server subsystem, or blades in an active state.

In one implementation scheme, the device management module 12 is a firstdevice management module, configured to monitor an operating state of ablade, where the operating state includes one or more combinations of astate of a network card of the blade, a heartbeat of the blade, and astate of an application program on the blade, and determine a standbyblade of a first blade when detecting that the first blade is inabnormal operation; deliver a first configuration command to the storagesystem based on a mapping relationship between a startup cardidentification of the first blade and a first storage partitionidentification, the first configuration command including information ofa mapping relationship between a startup card identification of thedetermined standby blade and the first storage partition identification;and deliver a startup command to the determined standby blade.

Preferably, in the management server according to the embodiment of thepresent invention, the first device management module is furtherconfigured to monitor a state of the storage system, where the stateincludes one or more combinations of a heartbeat of the storage systemand a state of the storage system, remove an access relationship betweena blade 21, 22, . . . , and 2N and the active storage system whendetecting that the active storage system is in abnormal operation,deliver a second configuration command to the standby storage systembased on a mapping relationship between a startup card identification ofthe blade 21, 22, . . . , and 2N and a corresponding storage partitionidentification in the active storage system, the second configurationcommand including information of a mapping relationship between thestartup card identification of the blade 21, 22, . . . , and 2N and acorresponding storage partition identification in the standby storagesystem, and deliver a restart command to the blade 21, 22, . . . , and2N.

In another implementation scheme, the device management module 12 is asecond device management module, configured to monitor a fault alarmreported from a blade, and determine a standby blade of a first bladewhen receiving a fault alarm reported from the first blade; deliver afirst configuration command to the storage system based on a mappingrelationship between a startup card identification of the first bladeand a first storage partition identification, the first configurationcommand including information of a mapping relationship between astartup card identification of the determined standby blade and thefirst storage partition identification; and deliver a startup command tothe determined standby blade.

Preferably, in the management server according to the embodiment of thepresent invention, the second device management module is furtherconfigured to monitor a fault alarm reported from the storage system,remove a mapping relationship between a blade 21, 22, . . . , and 2N andthe active storage system when receiving a fault alarm reported from theactive storage system, deliver a second configuration command to thestandby storage system based on a mapping relationship between a startupcard identification of the blade 21, 22, . . . , and 2N and acorresponding storage partition identification in the active storagesystem, the second configuration command including information of amapping relationship between the startup card identification of theblade 21, 22, . . . , and 2N and a corresponding storage partitionidentification in the standby storage system, and deliver a restartcommand to the blade 21, 22, . . . , and 2N.

It may be seen that, the embodiment of the present invention provides amanagement server, in which the management server is disposed in adistributed blade server system with blades that do not have a localdisk, and a mapping relationship between the blades and the storagepartitions in the storage system is configured through the managementserver, so that the management server, when finding that a blade and/ora storage system is in abnormal operation, controls switching of theblade and/or the storage system. In this way, when a fault occurs in ablade and/or a storage system, a standby blade and/or a standby storagesystem may be quickly used for providing a service, so as to reduce theservice interruption time, and thereby the system reliability isimproved.

FIG. 7 is a schematic structural diagram of a management serveraccording to another embodiment of the present invention. As shown inFIG. 7, this embodiment may further include a user display module 13based on the device shown in FIG. 6.

The user display module 13 is configured to receive system configurationdata configured by a user, where the system configuration data includesone or more parameters in a mapping relationship between a blade startupcard identification, a storage system partition identification, and ablade state; and display operating states of a blade server subsystemand a storage system.

Correspondingly, the device management module 12 is responsible formonitoring and managing the blade server subsystem and the storagesystem, and specifically may include a control unit 121, a blademanagement unit 122, a storage management unit 123, a blade monitoringunit 124 and a storage monitoring unit 125.

The control unit 121 is configured to trigger the behavior of the blademanagement unit 122 based on user configuration data or a feedback fromthe blade monitoring unit 124; or trigger the behavior of the storagemanagement unit 123 based on user configuration data or a feedback fromthe storage monitoring unit 125; and start a monitoring task accordingto the user configuration data.

It should be understood that, after system power-up, in an initialstate, the control unit 121 is specifically configured to trigger thebehavior of the blade management unit 122 or the storage management unit123 based on user configuration data.

The blade monitoring unit 124 is configured to monitor an operatingstate of each blade in the blade server subsystem, and notify thecontrol unit 121 when detecting that the first blade is in abnormaloperation.

The blade management unit 122 responds to the trigger of the controlunit 121, and is configured to deliver a first configuration command tothe storage system based on a mapping relationship between a first bladestartup card identification and a first storage partition identificationmaintained by the data storage module 11, the first configurationcommand including information of a mapping relationship between astartup card identification of a determined standby blade and the firststorage partition identification, and deliver a startup command to thedetermined standby blade, thereby configuring the mapping relationshipbetween a startup card of the determined standby blade and the firststorage partition, and starting the standby blade.

It should be understood that, in one implementation scheme, the systemconfiguration data in the data storage module 11 is updated, to deletean item representing the mapping relationship between the first bladestartup card identification and the first storage partitionidentification.

Preferably, as shown in FIG. 1 b, in the distributed blade server systemaccording to the embodiment of the present invention, the storage system30 includes an active storage system 31 and a standby storage system 32,and each storage system includes multiple storage partitions 1, 2, . . ., and N.

The storage monitoring unit 125 is configured to monitor the operatingstate of the storage system, and notify the control unit 121 whenfinding that the active storage system is in abnormal operation.

The storage management unit 123 responds to the trigger of the controlunit 121, is configured to deliver a second configuration command to thestandby storage system based on a mapping relationship between a startupcard identification of each blade and a corresponding storage partitionidentification in the active storage system maintained by the datastorage module 11, the second configuration command includinginformation of a mapping relationship between the startup cardidentification of each blade and a corresponding storage partitionidentification in the standby storage system, and is configured todeliver a restart command to each blade, thereby configuring a mappingrelationship between a startup card of each blade and a correspondingstorage partition in the standby storage system, and restarting all theblades.

It should be understood that, in one implementation scheme, the systemconfiguration data in the data storage module 11 is updated, to updatethe mapping relationship between the startup card identification of eachblade and the corresponding storage partition in the active storagesystem to the mapping relationship between the startup cardidentification of each blade and the corresponding storage partitionidentification in the standby storage system.

In actual applications, the management server according to theembodiment of the present invention may be deployed in differentmanners, for example, the management server is deployed on anindependent server, or, as shown in FIG. 1 c, deployed on a blade in theblade server subsystem.

For the specific implementation of the above functional units, referencemay be made to the description of the method embodiments.

Each unit of the apparatus according to the embodiment of the presentinvention may be integrated or independently deployed. The above unitsmay be combined into one unit, or further divided into a plurality ofsubunits.

An embodiment of the present invention further provides anotherdistributed blade server system, which includes a management server, astorage system and a blade server subsystem including multiple blades,the management server being in communication connection with the bladeserver subsystem and the storage system through a network.

The management server is configured to determine a standby blade of afirst blade when it is determined that the first blade is in abnormaloperation, deliver a first configuration command to the storage system,the first configuration command being used for indicating that thedetermined standby blade is capable of accessing a first storagepartition where original loaded content of the first blade is located,and deliver a startup command to the determined standby blade.

The storage system includes multiple storage partitions, and saves anOS, an application program and configuration data that are required bythe multiple blades; and is configured to respond to the firstconfiguration command to configure an access relationship between thestandby blade and the first storage partition where the original loadedcontent of the first blade is located, so as to enable the standby bladeto access the first storage partition.

The standby blade is configured to respond to the startup command, andafter the startup card of the standby blade is started, load, from theaccessible first storage partition in the storage system, the OS, theapplication program and the configuration data.

In one implementation scheme, the management server according to theembodiment of the present invention does not maintain systemconfiguration data having a mapping relationship.

Correspondingly, the management server is specifically configured todetermine a standby blade of a first blade when it is determined thatthe first blade is in abnormal operation, deliver a first configurationcommand to the storage system, the first configuration command includinga startup card identification of the determined standby blade and astartup card identification of the faulty first blade, and deliver astartup command to the determined standby blade.

Correspondingly, the storage system is specifically configured torespond to the first configuration command, determine that the startupcard identification of the first blade is corresponding to a firststorage partition identification, and configure a mapping relationshipbetween the startup card identification of the determined standby bladeand the first storage partition identification.

Correspondingly, the standby blade is specifically configured to respondto the startup command, and after the startup card of the standby bladeis started, load the OS, the application program and the configurationdata from a first storage partition identified by the first storagepartition identification associated with the startup card identificationof the standby blade.

In another implementation scheme, the management server according to theembodiment of the present invention maintains system configuration datahaving a mapping relationship, and correspondingly, for the specificimplementation of the processing and functions of the management server,the storage system and the blade, reference may be made to thedescription of the above embodiments.

It should be noted that, the terms “first” and “second” used in thedescription of the above embodiments are used for ease ofdistinguishing, but not intended to limit an order.

Based on the above, in the embodiments of the present invention, amanagement server is disposed in a distributed blade server system withblades that do not have a local disk, and a mapping relationship betweenthe blades and the storage partitions in the storage system isconfigured through the management server, so that the management server,when finding that a blade and/or a storage system is in abnormaloperation, controls switching of the blade and/or the storage system. Inthis way, when a fault occurs in a blade and/or a storage system, astandby blade and/or a standby storage system may be quickly used forproving a service, so as to reduce the service interruption time, andthereby the system reliability is improved.

Persons skilled in the art should understand that all or a part of thesteps of the method according to the embodiments of the presentinvention may be implemented by a program instructing relevant hardware(such as a processor). The program may be stored in a computer readablestorage medium. When the program is run, the steps of the methodaccording to the embodiments of the present invention are performed. Thestorage medium may be a magnetic disk, an optical disk, a Read-OnlyMemory (ROM), or a Random Access Memory (RAM).

The above descriptions are exemplary embodiments of the presentinvention. It should be noted by persons skilled in the art thatmodifications and variations may be made without departing from theprinciple of the present invention, which should be also construed asfalling within the protection scope of the present invention.

What is claimed is:
 1. A distributed blade server system, comprising: amanagement server, a storage system comprising an active storage systemand a standby storage system, and a blade server subsystem comprisingmultiple blades which are mapped to the active storage system, themanagement server being in connection with the blade server subsystemand the storage system through a network; wherein the management serveris configured to: remove the mapping between all the multiple blades andthe active storage system when it is determined that the active storagesystem is in an abnormal operation, deliver a configuration command tothe standby storage system based on a first mapping relationship betweena blade and a first corresponding storage partition in the -activestorage system, wherein the configuration command comprises informationof a second mapping relationship between the blade and a secondcorresponding storage partition in the standby storage system, anddeliver a restart command to the multiple blades; wherein the standbystorage system is configured to: save an operating system, anapplication program and configuration data that the multiple bladesrequired, and respond to the configuration command to configure thesecond mapping relationship; wherein the multiple blades are configuredto: respond to the restart command to restart and load, respectively,the operating system, the application program and the configuration datafrom corresponding storage partitions in the standby storage system. 2.A management server, comprising a memory comprising a computer readablestorage medium; and a processor configured to execute a computer programstored in the memory, wherein the computer program comprises: a datastorage module, configured to save system configuration data, whereinthe system configuration data comprises a first mapping relationshipbetween a blade and a first corresponding storage partition in theactive storage system; a device management module, configured to: removea mapping between the blade and the corresponding storage partition inthe active storage system when it is determined that the active storagesystem is in an abnormal operation, deliver a configuration command to astandby storage system based on the first mapping relationship, whereinthe configuration command comprises information of a second mappingrelationship between the blade and a second corresponding storagepartition in the standby storage system, and deliver a restart commandto the blade.
 3. A switching method, applicable to a management server,comprising: removing a mapping between a blade and an active storagesystem when it is determined that the active storage system is in anabnormal operation, delivering a configuration command to a standbystorage system based on a first mapping relationship between the bladeand a first corresponding storage partition in the active storagesystem, wherein the configuration command comprises information of asecond mapping relationship between the blade and a second correspondingstorage partition in the standby storage system, to enable the standbystorage system to respond to the configuration command to configure thesecond mapping relationship; delivering a restart command to the blade,to enable the blade to respond to the restart command to restart andload, respectively, an operating system, an application program andconfiguration data from the corresponding storage partitions in thestandby storage system.